Classic Systems Emulated: The Apple IIe

July 15, 2021

The Apple II Redefines Micro-computing!

The Apple IIe, an updated follow-up to the II+, was released on January 1983. The IIe became the most well-known and iconic computer in the II series. There was a flood of games, productivity programs, and educational titles that populated the platform.

The "e" in the IIe stands for enhanced. The IIe was a updated version of the Apple II+ that had a reduced chip count to make the computer cheaper to manufacturer. One of the big features of the IIe was the incorporation of the 80-column text mode as standard. On the II+, 80-column text mode was an optional feature that was added via a peripheral card that plugged into one of the expansion slots. However, it was incorporated in the IIe itself without needed that extra adapter, thus freeing up an extra expansion slot in the process.

The IIe supported more memory than the II+. On that system, memory tapped out at 64KB, even though more could be technically added to the system via RAM adapters that used bank switching to address more memory. However, the IIe was capable of addressing even more memory (up to 128KB). Not only that, even more memory could be supported as the IIe made even more accommodations for bank-switching, thus allowing the computer to address 256KB, 512KB, and even 1MB of memory via memory adapters.

Their were many productivity programs released for the Apple IIe. Well known early titles included updated versions of AppleWriter and VisiCalc. The IIe had support for lower-case characters, something that was new to the system. However, one program came along that quickly took the IIe by storm.

AppleWorks was released on 1984. AppleWorks was to the IIe what Lotus 123 was for the IBM PC/XT; a killer application that put computers in corporate offices. AppleWorks demonstrated that the Apple IIe was just as much capable of serious office work like those IBM compatibles. AppleWorks is an example of an integrated office suite, which is an application that combines the word-processor, spreadsheet, database, and communications function into a single package. Data can be shared between all of these modules. AppleWorks was designed for the IIe in mind.

The irony was that a computer that wasn't intended for corporate users found much more success in that market compared to the computer that was destined for that role: The Apple III. The Apple IIe assumed that role instead and became highly successful, becoming a formidable competitor to the IBM Compatibles. Many more programs would follow in its success as their would soon be a flood of of spreadsheets, word-processors, and graphical programs for the booming IIe. Some PC applications were ported to the IIe as well, like WordPerfect. The king of DOS word-processors found a new home on the IIe, along with many dedicated users.

Like the II+, the IIe was backward compatible with the screen modes offered by that computer. Their was a rich assortment of mode that the IIe could choose from. The IIe supported a Hi-res mode that conformed to the screen resolution of 280 by 192 pixels along with 8 colors that could be displayed on the screen at once.

Emulation
Like the Apple II+, the IIe is faithfully emulated by MESS/MAME and by AppleWin. The choice of emulator is depends on whether one wants very quick and easy start or if one is addicted to pain. For those who want easy of use, then I would highly recommend AppleWin. For those who seek the ultimate challenge that is the command-line (their are friendly graphical front-ends too!), then their is MAME. As with the emulated II+, I typically prefer MAME as one could fine-tune the emulation to a very specific manner using the command-line. Either way, their are other multiple ways one can experience the awesomeness that is the IIe.